Toys can entertain and stimulate young minds and foster an interest in a particular area, such as music, photography, math, arts and crafts, or language. Playing helps to develop a child's social, emotional, language, intellectual, and problem-solving skills. When choosing toys, consider safety and age-appropriateness.

Playing helps to develop a baby's social, emotional, language, intellectual, and problem-solving skills. Batting at a mobile, giving a musical ball a shove, or transferring a rattle from one hand to another helps babies to learn about the world. Such play also helps them to connect sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell to objects, to recognize shapes, patterns, and colors, develop hand-eye coordination and memory, and to bond with you and others.

When you choose toys and activities that enhance your child's development, you're speaking your baby's language and helping her to foster cognitive and social skills that she can build on. But don't give toys all the credit. You're a key player. The most important toy is the parent and other caregivers because babies crave one-on-one social interaction and need the security it provides. The right toy, though, can make key developmental stages more fun—for your child and for you.